Disease

[CAH2_HUMAN] Defects in CA2 are the cause of osteopetrosis autosomal recessive type 3 (OPTB3) [MIM:259730]; also known as osteopetrosis with renal tubular acidosis, carbonic anhydrase II deficiency syndrome, Guibaud-Vainsel syndrome or marble brain disease. Osteopetrosis is a rare genetic disease characterized by abnormally dense bone, due to defective resorption of immature bone. The disorder occurs in two forms: a severe autosomal recessive form occurring in utero, infancy, or childhood, and a benign autosomal dominant form occurring in adolescence or adulthood. Autosomal recessive osteopetrosis is usually associated with normal or elevated amount of non-functional osteoclasts. OPTB3 is associated with renal tubular acidosis, cerebral calcification (marble brain disease) and in some cases with mental retardation.[1][2][3][4][5]

Function

[CAH2_HUMAN] Essential for bone resorption and osteoclast differentiation (By similarity). Reversible hydration of carbon dioxide. Can hydrate cyanamide to urea. Involved in the regulation of fluid secretion into the anterior chamber of the eye.[6][7]

Evolutionary Conservation

Publication Abstract from PubMed

Structure for the adduct of carbonic anhydrase II with 1-N-(4-sulfamoylphenyl-ethyl)-2,4,6-trimethylpyridinium perchlorate, a membrane-impermeant antitumor sulfonamide, is reported. The phenylethyl moiety fills the active site, making van der Waals interactions with side chains of Gln192, Val121, Phe131, Leu198, Thr200. The 2,4,6-trimethylpyridinium functionality is at van der Waals distance from the aliphatic chain of Ile91 being involved in strong offset face-to-face stacking with Phe131. Analyzing X-ray crystal structures of such adducts, two binding modes were observed: some inhibitors bind with their tail within the hydrophobic half of the active site, defined by residues Phe131, Val135, Leu198, Pro202, Leu204. Other derivatives bind with their tail in a different region, pointing toward the hydrophilic half and making strong parallel stacking with Phe131. This interaction orients the inhibitor toward the hydrophilic part of the active site. Impossibility to participate in it leads to its binding within the hydrophobic half. Such findings are relevant for designing better inhibitors targeting isozymes II, IX, and XII, some of which are overexpressed in hypoxic tumors.